Lacombe

Identify Transportation

Lacombe

Identify Transportation

How it's done

If your business relies on passing trade and pedestrian traffic, then you will want to be located in a busy area and you will need to be visible. If the profitability of your business hinges on transportation costs and access to markets, then you will require a strategic location with proximity to logistic services that will save you time and money. This page will help you answer three important questions.

WHY do access, transportation and traffic matter?

WHAT transportation infrastructure exists?

HOW do I use this information?

Why do access, transportation and traffic matter?

For retailers, wholesalers, and many other types of goods and service oriented businesses, it is critical to ensure that there is easy access for customers and that there is a high degree of exposure and visibility when choosing a location. For manufacturing, logistics and other primary and secondary industries, suitable access to highways, airports, rail and ports is essential to managing a supply chain and ensuring efficient operations.

What transportation infrastructure exists?

The following map shows the location of a range of transportation infrastructure that may impact your business and warrant further investigation.

How do I use this information?

Access to transportation, such as roads, rail, airports and ports is a major success factor for many businesses, particularly warehousing and distribution operations. Accessibility also means making it easy and safe for customers to enter and exit your premises. For retail and other businesses that rely on passing trade, having good accessibility, signage and a high level of visibility and exposure along busier roads can really help build awareness and attract customers. For businesses located in residential areas, and denser inner city areas, visibility and accessibility will be a little less important because people will know where you are, but even in these instances good signage is still critical to marketing your business.

Knowing how many vehicles pass by a site each day is an important consideration when it comes to assessing the volume of potential customers. Too much traffic can lead to congestion and constrain access to a business, but it also means the site has a high degree of exposure. Only having a small amount of traffic passing by each day is not ideal for retail and other businesses that rely on passing trade. In short, the optimal volume of passing traffic will depend on the nature and location of the business.

Take care when assessing traffic volumes as the number of cars passing a location doesn’t tell you how many of the cars will potentially visit your business. For retail and other consumer orientated businesses finding the best location requires being strategically located relative to other competing and complimentary businesses in proximity, having excellent visibility on a major road; and finally, making it as convenient as possible for people to enter and exit your business.